If you're gearing up to dive into Gearbox's chaotic next installment of the Borderlands franchise, the first thing you'll want to check is whether your PC can keep up with the game's cel-shaded action. Borderlands 4 minimum specs are the baseline you need to hit to launch the game and play at acceptable framerates, no fancy settings required. This guide breaks down every component requirement, what each one means for your gameplay, and easy adjustments you can make if your rig is just under the line.
Official Borderlands 4 Minimum Specs Breakdown
Gearbox released the official baseline requirements ahead of launch, and they're more accessible than many fans expected, especially given the upgraded open world size and 4-player co-op support. These specs are calibrated for 1080p resolution at 30 FPS on low settings, with no background apps running:
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit (latest update)
- Processor: Intel Core i5-6600K / AMD Ryzen 5 2600
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 1060 6GB / AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB
- Storage: 75 GB available space (SSD strongly recommended)
- DirectX: Version 12
You'll notice the SSD recommendation is not marked as mandatory, but we strongly advise against running the game on a hard drive. Load times for open world zones and fast travel will jump from 10-15 seconds on SSD to 2+ minutes on HDD, and you'll run into frequent texture pop-in that ruins the cel-shaded art style Borderlands is known for. Even if you hit every other minimum requirement, playing on an HDD will make the experience feel far more sluggish than it should.
What Performance to Expect If You Hit Minimum Specs
Hitting the exact Borderlands 4 minimum specs doesn't mean you'll get a perfect experience, and it's important to set realistic expectations before you buy the game. You'll be limited to low or medium settings across the board, and you'll need to turn off extra features like ray tracing, dynamic weather effects, and high-resolution character textures to keep framerates steady during busy fights. You also won't be able to run high framerate monitors above 30 FPS without dropping resolution further.
If you plan to play co-op with friends, you might see framerates drop to 20-25 FPS during large boss fights with lots of particle effects, since 4-player co-op adds extra processing load for tracking every player's weapons, abilities, and loot drops. That doesn't mean the game is unplayable, but you will have to make small tradeoffs to keep things running smoothly. You can turn off player visual effects in the settings menu to cut down on extra processing work during busy co-op sessions.
Many players like to run small background apps while they wait for co-op lobbies to fill or for fast travel to load, so it's a good idea to close out any unnecessary programs before launching the game. Casual players who usually have quick, low-effort games open in the background to pass lobby wait times will want to close apps like JAIHO SLOTS before launching Borderlands 4, as even light background programs can eat up the 8GB of RAM that the minimum specs require to run properly. You can always open it back up during longer queue times or between missions if you want a quick break from looting.
Easy Tweaks If Your Rig Is Just Under Minimum Specs
If your PC is just a little shy of the official Borderlands 4 minimum specs, you don't necessarily have to upgrade your entire rig to play. There are a few simple adjustments you can make to squeeze out extra performance without spending a dime. We tested these tweaks on a rig with a 4th gen Intel i5 and GTX 970, and we were able to get a consistent 30 FPS at 900p low settings with no major crashes.
First, lower your resolution to 900p or 720p if you're stuck on an older graphics card. Dropping resolution is the single most effective way to boost framerates, and Borderlands' cartoon art style still looks great even at lower resolutions, unlike more realistic games that get blurry fast. You can also turn off anti-aliasing entirely without making the game look jagged, thanks to the thick black outlines around all characters and objects in the game.
Second, turn off all background recording features on Windows, including Xbox Game Bar and NVIDIA ShadowPlay, if you don't plan to clip your gameplay. These features use up 5-10% of your GPU and RAM resources for no benefit if you're not using them. You should also close any extra browser tabs, streaming apps, or communication tools you don't need while playing, to free up as much RAM as possible for the game.
Third, install the game on an SSD even if you have a lower-end processor. The faster load times reduce stutter when you're moving between open world zones, and you'll avoid the long wait times that make lower-spec play feel frustrating. You don't need a top-of-the-line NVMe SSD either; even a cheap SATA SSD will cut load times by 70% or more compared to a standard HDD.
We don't recommend trying to run the game on a rig that's more than 20% below the minimum specs, though. You'll run into constant crashes, unplayable framerates, and you might even run into issues with the game's anti-cheat system if your hardware is too old to support required features. If you can't launch the game after trying all these tweaks, you'll likely need to upgrade at least one component to play.
Should You Upgrade Your Rig to Beat Minimum Specs?
If you're on the fence about upgrading parts to hit above the Borderlands 4 minimum specs, it's worth weighing how much you plan to play the game, and what other games you enjoy. The baseline specs use parts that are 7+ years old at this point, so if you're still running a rig with less than 8GB of RAM or a GTX 900 series card, you're likely running into performance issues with most modern games anyway. A small upgrade will pay off across your entire game library, not just Borderlands 4.
The cheapest upgrade you can make to improve performance is adding extra RAM, if you currently have 8GB. Jumping to 16GB of DDR4 RAM costs less than $30 in most regions, and it will eliminate almost all stutter caused by background apps running alongside the game. It will also improve performance across every other game you play, and make your entire PC feel faster for everyday use, from browsing the web to editing files.
If you only plan to play Borderlands 4 casually for a few hours a week, and you're happy playing on low settings at 30 FPS, you don't need to spend money on upgrades. But if you want to play co-op regularly, stream your gameplay, or experience the game's art style at its full intended quality, it's worth saving up for a small upgrade to hit the recommended specs instead of just sticking to the minimum. The recommended specs only require a 1660 Super or equivalent GPU, which you can find used for less than $100 in most regions right now.
At the end of the day, the Borderlands 4 minimum specs are surprisingly accessible for a modern open world looter shooter, so most players with a rig built in the last 7 years will be able to jump into the action without spending extra money. If your rig is right on the line, small tweaks to your settings and background apps will be enough to get a smooth, enjoyable experience without major sacrifices. Before you buy, double check your component specs against the official list, and adjust your settings to match your hardware's capabilities for the best possible experience.